Monday, June 9, 2014

PW Pizza Boulevard Dinner

Last month's PW Pizza dinner featured Boulevard Brewing from Kansas City and every time I hear their name, I think how I should take their brewery tour when I'm over there. Even though it's not that far away, I really don't know much about their beers so it was nice to sample a few.

We started with the 80 Acre Hoppy Wheat with a salad...

Grilled Zucchini salad with Tomato Basil Relish in a Balsamic Reduction
For some reason, Boulevard seems to have the hoppiest beers. Even in their "light" beers! I actually enjoyed the second "light" beer, the Boss Tom's Gold Bock, over the 80 Acre Hoppy Wheat. Not only was the Boss Tom my favorite beer of the night, it was part of the best pairing with the Roasted Garlic Shrimp Pizza, which was on my favorite Honey Wheat Crust. Unfortuantely, I didn't get a picture of it, only the piggy one...

Piggy Pizza
Of course, they paired the pork pizza with the IPA, the stronger flavors, while the Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale was paired with the Peach & Mango Tart.

Peach & Mango Tart with Lemon Grass & Vanilla Ice Cream Paired with Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale
As a special treat, they also invited us downstairs to check out the 21st Street Brewer's Bar for a 2 oz sample of the Brett Saison, which was outstanding. Hopefully, that one will be available for a while...

Menu
Resources:

Boulevard Brewing = http://www.boulevard.com/

PW Pizza = http://pwpizza.com/

Photos by Patience Scanlon

Monday, June 2, 2014

Wine Merchant Cheese Class May 2014

As a follow up to the American cheese class in April, the May version featured French cheeses, not only my favorite country for wine and cheese, but the class included my all time favorite cheese, Epoisses.

Kicking off the night were traditional light, white wines with high acid that's always a wonderful compliment to the creamier cheeses, shown in the upper right on the plate below.

The second cheese, Langres, a cow's milk cheese from the Champagne region, was even washed in a white wine to make for an easy pairing.

Once we switched over to the reds, the cheeses became richer in order to stand up to the fruity and drier wines. I learned that the cows make larger wheels in the summer, but since there is less milk in the winter, the flavor can be more concentrated.

Also for the first time, I got to try an Ossau Iraty Fermier, the largest wedge on the plate, which is a higher standard designation due to the milk coming from a single farm. This sheep's milk cheese, the richest cheeses over cow and goat, along with the Epoisses, pictured just to the left of the Osau Iraty, went fabulously with the bold Chateauneuf du Pape.

Luckily, my personal photographer attended with me this time so the menu and delicious cheeses are featured below.

French cheeses

French Cheese Class Menu
Resources:

The Wine Merchant = http://www.winemerchantltd.com

Photos by Patience Scanlon